Coach Dave Doeren is trying his best to stay positive despite his team’s struggles (gopack.com photo)

DURHAM – Voices were raised in the N.C. State locker room following Saturday’s 38-20 loss to Duke. They were so loud that the commotion could be heard by members of the media waiting for coach Dave Doeren’s press conference next door.

That’s not a surprising reaction from a football team that has lost its last five games and sits at 0-6 in the ACC for only the second time ever.

But according to first-year coach Dave Doeren, the yelling wasn’t what most might expect it to be.

“I’m not a negative guy,” Doeren said. “I told (the team) that our seniors are doing everything they can and we need to win these next three games for them. That’s all I said.

“There’s a lot of hurt guys in there. They want to win. There was nothing negative coming out of my mouth. It was about the positive things that happened. I don’t need to beat these guys down.”

They’ve already been beaten down enough by the results of the past two weeks.

Needing three wins to keep its rapidly fading bowl hopes alive, the Wolfpack first squandered an early 10-point lead in an emotional loss to rival North Carolina that could easily have been a win had it scored touchdowns in the red zone instead of settling for four Niklas Sade field goals.

Then Saturday, State’s defense kept the game close for 3½ quarters until Brandon Mitchell stunned Duke by hitting Quintin Payton for an 80-yard touchdown that gave the Wolfpack a 20-17 lead with 6:37 remaining.

But instead of holding on for a badly needed victory, Doeren’s team fell apart at the most inopportune of times.

That’s nothing new. This meltdown, however, was by far the most dramatic.

A five-yard run by Brandon Connette, coupled with interception returns for touchdowns on consecutive plays by safety DeVon Edwards gave the Blue Devils 21 points in an incredible 26-second span.

And just like that, it was all over.

“The game came down to the fourth quarter. Obviously, Duke beat us in the fourth quarter today.

“We threw interceptions for touchdowns and let it slip away. We were playing great on the road. I thought defensively, we played as good as we could. Offensively we’re fighting and scratching. We’re running the football. We’re moving down the field. We’re just not throwing the ball consistently, and that hurts you.”

Doeren’s assessment of his team’s problems couldn’t have been more accurate.

His defense played well enough to win while forcing four turnovers and limiting Duke to two offensive touchdowns. Shadrach Thornton provided a solid running attack by rushing for 103 yards on 26 carries

But even that wasn’t enough to overcome a passing game that was nothing short of inept.

Between them, Mitchell and Pete Thomas combined to complete only 13 of 33 passes (39.3 percent) for 248 yards and three interceptions. And 80 of those came on one play, prompting Duke coach David Cutcliffe to quip “that if you throw it deep long enough, they’re going to eventually catch one.”

Even with that one, Mitchell and Thomas combined to throw more touchdowns to the other team than they did to their own Saturday. They now have 15 interceptions and just five touchdowns for the season.

The good news for Doeren and State fans is that Florida transfer Jacoby Brissett is waiting in the wings ready to step in and run the uptempo spread offense next season. The bad news is that for the final three games of this season – all of which need to be wins for State to qualify for the postseason – the Wolfpack is going to make do with what it’s got.

At least publicly, the Wolfpack haven’t given up on Mitchell, a fifth-year graduate student, and junior Thomas. State’s only other options are freshmen Bryant Sherriffs and Josh Taylor.

“We have great quarterbacks and they’re going to come back and work as hard as anybody,” Thornton said. “They work as hard as anybody. There’s no quit in those guys. They’re going to fix themselves and fix their mistakes just like I’m going to fix myself and fix my mistakes. It takes a team to lose and it takes a team to win.”

Pack coaches have a robust group of 2014 Freshman Committs but until the ink done in February thigs can change.
Losing to Wake,UNC,Duke and maybe ECU is not sitting well with Pack supporters.
Building takes time but Pack looks real confused on the field?